A lot of thought was put into the collision of fabrics and colors for this set of Houshou Marine's Manqiu Convention photos. This primarily red-and-black outfit, with the inverted white triangle patchwork on the chest and the blue-green gemstone decoration, adds a touch of formality and refinement to the nautical feel. To recreate the character's vibrant and dashing energy in front of the lens, I worked with photographer @Ruoye at the anime convention to capture several different angles and poses.
Starting with the hair, this red short wig was specially chosen with a pinkish-purple gradient. The pink-and-white bow on top has highly prominent layering under complex lighting, performing exceptionally well whether from the front or in side-backlighting. The separate gloves and sleeves are detailed highlights of this styling: the dark arm sleeves paired with white short gloves, adorned with red cuffs with white borders, make the arm movements look much crisper on camera. The black semi-transparent mesh patchwork and waist cutout are personal favorites of mine in this Anime-style fashion. Under the overhead lights of the exhibition hall, they beautifully flatter my figure while preserving a touch of the character's sexy traits.
In this photo set, I chose three main positions to showcase the dynamic flow of the costume. The pose in Figure 3, sitting on a black high stool with both legs stretched forward, not only elongated the leg lines but also completely displayed the combination of black lace-trimmed thigh-high socks and brown high-heeled ankle boots. When shooting this posture, I deliberately leaned my upper body backward to put the visual weight on the legs and jacket, resulting in a highly impactful shot. In the other two standing poses, forcefully whipping the long cape behind me was a key focus. The red cape features orange-red horizontal stripes on its inner lining; the moment the shutter clicked, the fabric unfurled with my movement, perfectly capturing the atmospheric vibe of a voyager riding the wind and waves at sea.
The live environment was a massive indoor exhibition hall with dense overhead lighting, which poses a bit of a challenge for Convention photos as it easily creates hot spots on top of the head. However, thanks to the ambient reflected light and the key light cast by the photographer, the skin texture turned out highly luminous and clear. The black sphere prop I held was also a great point of interaction, offering another lively pose option when combined with a low-angle shot. We wandered back and forth throughout the hall during the shoot, finding a few areas with relatively clean backgrounds free of chaotic crowds to complete these photos. The atmosphere at the Manqiu convention has always been highly welcoming. Walking around in this outfit was a bit exhausting due to the tall boots and high heels, but leaving a set of satisfying Convention photos in a place where fellow fans gather is incredibly enjoyable in itself. The tailoring of the costume was quite friendly for crouching and moving; especially the drape of the cape and the length of the short skirt didn't cause many shifting issues during dynamic snapshots, which greatly boosted our shooting efficiency back then. The post-processing color grading incorporated an overall blue-gray dark tone to make the red-and-black outfit pop in the frame while retaining a touch of the venue's cool-toned ambiance.